The Land Near the Airport is Like an Old Violin

   Wish I could drum up support for why land near the airport is the most wasteful of sites for the prison.
   The worst place of all.
   Not in terms of whether it will make for a good prison site, for it will. But, it is the worst of sites in terms of what we are giving up, in terms of what that land should be used for. With most any property, if the prison is built on it, the displaced uses (such as high tech development) can be moved elsewhere.
   But, not so with the property near the airport. There is only one international airport, only one within hundreds of miles. If we are to take advantage of this location, then those uses that lend to being next to an airport cannot be shifted to any other place.
   I will grant that land near airports often is seen as having little more value than to be home to industrial parks. We notice the Salt Lake Airport is an example of this, as it has an industrial park next to it.
   How we sell the value of that property short.
   How should we use the land? Look at it this way: Who flies in? Who flies in on the airlines, and why shouldn't we locate their uses right next to the airport? Most of them are simply visitors of residents, and perhaps there isn't much we can do to accommodate them. But, some are corporate visitors. We can accommodate them. We can develop the area to make it as attractive as possible, so some of those corporations might want to locate next to the airport. And, more, we can provide entertainment and lush landscaping and a pleasant environment in the land around the airport, making it a place where the corporate visitors are greeted and dined.
   Done correctly, developing such an environment in the area pitched to large corporations might be a sales point no other city offers, for I know of no city that includes as part of its corporate zone venues to entertain and places to woo customers and guests for the corporations.
   Who else flies in? Tourists. Why not accommodate them? Why should we not greet them with as many venues and things to see as is possible? "Location, location, location" has always been a rallying cry in marketing, so why should it not apply to tourism? We cannot move our national parks, nor our ski slopes, but that does not mean we should throw away the advantage of being near an airport. Simply build additional tourist attractions there, and a visitors' center that promotes all the sites in the state.
   Why should the prison not go near the airport? After all, of the four proposed sites, it is the best for the prison, in terms of being near to services and to the prisoners' families and to volunteers and to workers.
   Only Point of the Mountain is better.
   I, truly, want the prisoners to have the best site for them. I dream of a prison that truly rehabilitates the prisoner. Considering what makes for a great prison system is a hobby of mine, and I give it much thought.
   I say, leave the prison in Draper, for that site offers what will make for a wonderful prison.
  Leave the land around the airport alone, for it has a value like none other. If we succumb to the temptation of using that land for a prison, we will be snatching it away from a more glorious use. We will be wasting that property. We should "mine" that land for the hidden treasure that is in it. We should capitalize on the value it has. We should utilize it for its highest usage.
  A prison near the airport? More industrial parks? I would hope that is not the future of that property.  I think of the poem that begins:
   "Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
   "thought it scarcely worth his while to waste much time on the old violin
   "but held it up with a smile . . ."
   I am not a master violin player, nor perhaps even a master of persuasion, but I do hold up the land near the airport with a smile, realizing its potential. Come Tuesday, it likely will be named as the future home of the prison. It is going and almost gone.
    Would that the mayor or city council or someone would see the value of this land, and step up in protest. If the plea I offer here does no good, let someone else pitch the message, let someone else play this violin.